


Stranger things have happened

by ShamelessAndFameless



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bars and Pubs, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Jealousy, Jon Snow knows nothing, M/M, Movie Night, Robb Stark is a Gift, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tormund loves to eat things sexually, awkward dinners
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-07-24 07:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7499985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShamelessAndFameless/pseuds/ShamelessAndFameless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is Friday night and Theon, Robb and Jon are preparing for their typical movie night but Jon has plans to go out and Robb should really learn to read the synopsis for movies before the bathroom door gets broken.</p><p> Again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo!
> 
> So, this is my first ever fanfic but please feel free to tell me where I may have messed up up because I'm sure I did in some places.This also happens to be dedicated/written for my friend Talea who I said I'd write something for, enjoy! :)

It was Friday movie night and Robb idly flicked through the Netflix library, waiting for something to pique his interest while Theon was busy taking a call with who he assumed was Asha by the intermittent sighs and groans that echoed down the hall of their shared apartment.

_At least it’s not any other member of his family_ Robb contemplated,

_Not that anyone in his family other than Asha keeps in contact with Theon anyway, though that’s probably for the better._

Robb had learned early-on during their friendship that Theon’s family was a subject best left alone.

_Crack-Crack-Crack_

“Couldn’t you do that somewhere else?”  Jon said, cringing at Robb’s back cracking with disgust.

He simply smirked in reply, extending his legs comfortably on the couch while not breaking eye contact with his half-brother who stared at him with contempt before rolling his eyes and leaning back into his seat. He looked brooding as usual but his typical stone-faced pout seemed to be filled with anxiety and Jon intermittently glanced back at his phone on their dining table.

A frustrated “ _Later”_ and subsequent footsteps that sounded from the hall marked the return of Theon; he sighed loudly as he entered the main room of the shared apartment. He placed his phone down in the bowl in the centre of the table, designated for their phones to go in as Robb had started enforcing a ‘No Phone Rule’ for movie night.

Robb nodded approvingly and Theon returned a scathing glare and as he was about to say something,

**_DING._ **

Jon turned his body sharply to face the noise, his gaze so intense Robb thought he might start burning the table. Jon launched himself from his chair but Theon having seen Jon’s keen interest in the noise sends him a wicked smile and snatches the phone before he is even halfway to the table – holding the phone loosely to taunt him.

Jon froze in his place as Greyjoy looked down at the phone screen inquisitively and read out the notification:

_New message from Ygritte_

“Who’s desperate enough to be messaging you on a Friday night, Snow?” Mocked Theon.

Jon grunted in reply and Theon bolted towards the kitchen to put some distance between him and Snow but Theon was never one for sprinting and Jon – to everyone’s surprise – was quite good at track in high school. Theon was now struggling on the ground as Jon had tackled him from behind, trying to prevent him from slipping from his hold all while trying to grab the phone. Theon was pushing him away with his arm holding the phone extended in front of him and far out of Jon’s reach – for now.

“Greyjoy what the fuck do you think you’re doing, I’m not an idiot I have a passco-”

Robb couldn’t help but giggle, spectating from his perch on the couch now sitting up as the unmistakable sound of an iPhone being unlocked cut through Jon’s words and his face descended into shock. It didn’t take him long to recover but it was too late as Theon had already begun to read the message on Jon’s phone aloud:

_I’m always up for a beer or six.  Meet me at The Wall ASAP, I’ll be waiting Snow._

Jon had obviously had enough of ‘playing around’ as he manoeuvred Theon’s arm behind his back and was forcing it upwards – it didn’t take long for Theon to drop the phone.

“Gods Snow, would it break your balls to once in a while not be such a hard-ass?” Theon spat at Jon, wincing as he released his shoulder from the hold.

Jon returned Greyjoy an icy glare and then a smirk after seeing that his shoulder was causing him a considerable amount of frustration before he walked back to his room and slammed the door.

“You know, living with each other would be a lot easier if you would at least _try_ to be considerate,” Robb scolded Theon as he walked to sit next to him on the couch, “I mean, wouldn’t at least being _civil_ with Jon make life much more pleasant for all of us?”

Theon shot him a knowing look as he reached over and snatched the remote from Robb’s hand, “Now where would be the fun in that?”

“After all these years you’re going to eventually get bored,” Robb sighed loudly, “But anyway – what was the call about?”

There was no point in going over the argument that they had been having about Jon for years now. Robb listened half-heartedly to Theon grumble over news of his family’s latest drama, something about a feud between his uncle and his father who he didn’t actually know could ever _not_ be feuding although this could be true for most of Theon’s family as he’d heard about their in-fighting since the day that they became friends. He just stared at Theon’s lips moving without taking in any of the sound that bellowed from them and wondered what they would feel like pressed against his own, fingers tangled into his hair all whil-

_No, Robb, no. You’re thinking about Theon, remember? Stop thinking about your best friend like that._

Robb tuned out of his thoughts and back into the conversation as Theon stopped using the disgruntled tone he always uses when his family is brought up and Jon also happened to leave his room, his hair looking less like a bird’s nest than it did before and now sporting some less casual clothing – not that you get any more casual than the sweatpants he had been wearing before.

Jon grabbed his set of keys from the kitchen bench and walked towards the door and made the mistake of turning back to see Robb give him a pleading stare as Theon now seems to have the remote and is looking through Netflix’s selection of horror movies. Jon stopped with his hand on the door knob and thinks back to the scene of Robb screaming his way through ‘The Conjuring’ and the noise complaint they had received from their landlord the next day – which wasn’t actually because of the screaming but Theon and Jon’s maniacal laughter at Robb’s expense, not that they told him that.

They’d still made Robb the one who had to apologise to the landlord and whoever on the floor above them complained.

Jon walked over to Theon who was all too focused in reading the synopsis for some movie when Jon casually takes the remote from his grasp, “I believe it is _my_ turn to choose the movie.”

Theon opened his mouth to argue when Robb interjected, “Don’t even bother, Theon.”

Theon rolled his eyes and mutters something under his breath and Robb gives him a shrug but smiles to himself when Jon changes out of the horror category. Jon fumbles around for a few seconds before settling into the ‘New Releases’ category and makes a pleased sound ‘ah’ sound as he stops on a film.

“Sansa wouldn’t shut up about this film the last time I saw her - have fun,” Jon threw the remote at Robb’s face and he took the hit without too much of a groan – he knew he kind of deserved it for laughing instead of intervening with his and Theon’s fight.

“By the way there’s some popcorn in the pantry,” Jon added before he walked out the door with a typically unreadable expression.

Robb didn’t bother reading the synopsis and simply looked at the title:

_Still Alice_

He sighed and pressed play but paused after only a few seconds and looked at Theon expectantly, “So are you going to cook that popcorn?”

 

* * *

 

 

Jon walked briskly in the cool air and noted that his breath was barely visible - winter was coming. Illuminating the street was the offensively neon sign for _The Wall_ that only showed how old it was when a letter occasionally flickered. Jon crossed the road and approached the door, pushing it open with the creak of hinges that had probably never seen oil and looked around to spot his date tonight.

 

It seemed he was too slow as he heard his name being called from the back of the bar,

“JON SNOOOOOOW”

Before he had time to register what was happening a red blur launched itself at him and pushed him to the floor and was now sitting atop him, laughing at the terror visible on his face.

Jon realised what had happened and laughed back, “Do you really need to assault me to say hi?”

“Do you always need to be such a broody prick?” Chirped Ygritte as she was unceremoniously pushed off a frowning Jon, breaking out into a fit of laughter on the bar’s floor.

Jon stood up and offered a hand to Ygritte who laughed and got up herself.

“Hand-holding already, Snow? You’ve got to stop throwing yourself at me” Ygritte said while pushing Jon to a table that already had evidence of heavy alcohol consumption. Jon sat and relaxed into his chair as Ygritte left to return with more beer and probably a couple of shots. The inside of the bar looked far more modern than the tarnished outside with almost everything being coloured in black – not that Jon minded, in fact he quite liked the aesthetic. The population of the bar was predictably high with it being a Friday night and people were dancing energetically to the beat of music.

Jon pulled a packet of smokes as Ygritte returned with a couple of pints and more than a couple of shots. He fumbled around in his pockets for a light as his date sat down and was already making considerable progress on her beer while Jon sighed as he realised he must have left his back at the apartment before starting on his own pint.

“I forgot my fucking lighter – again!” Jon growled before taking in another mouthful of beer and Ygritte laughed and reached into her bright red coat.

“Lucky for you, someone around here isn’t a _complete_ disappointment” Ygritte mocked as she produced a lighter from the coat, waving it in her hand with a prideful look adorned on her face.

“Isn’t that _my_ lighter that I lost some time last week?”

Ygritte scoffed at him, “Semantics, Snow, now you realise my services don’t come for free?”

“I didn’t even think you smoked?” Jon said, tossing the packet to Ygritte who took one and threw it back at him and Jon pocketed the packet and turned back to see Ygritte leaning across the table holding the lighter close to his mouth. Jon obliged and placed the smoke back in his mouth and Ygritte leaned in close so that the ends  of their smokes were nearly touching, staring into his eyes as she flicked a flame to life to light them both at once.

Ygritte took a drag and leaned into Jon’s ear and exhaled the smoke, warming the left side of his face.

“Then you know nothing, Jon Snow.”

 

* * *

 

 

 “Theon, are you okay?” Robb said listening intently to any sound that could be coming from inside,

“Theon unlock the door”

Still no response, Robb pounded on the bathroom door as he recalled tonight’s events and wondered how he got here. They had just watching the film and Robb had noticed Theon was watching more intently than usual, his eyes unusually focused and even more strangely was that Theon didn’t make any comments after the first five minutes.

_Strange._

Robb thought hard but felt like the answer was just within his grasp as he knocked harder on the door. He didn’t seem weird before the movie had started so it couldn’t have been the phone call which usually were sources of trouble for Theon. Robb looked back to the couch where Theon had been laying on and noticed his bowl of popcorn was almost untouched which made Robb worry, Theon never missed an opportunity to eat anything for as long as he had known him; when he still lived at home Theon would take it as a challenge whenever he came over to try and devour as much of their fridge and pantry as he could much to his mother’s dismay.

_It had to be something to do with the movie, didn’t it?_

Robb was deep in thought when he heard a strangled sound from inside the bathroom, someone could almost mistake if for a sob but Theon doesn’t cry for movies.

_What in that movie could have made Theon so agitate-_

_Oh._

**_OH._ **

The answer hit Robb like a truck as he reprimanded himself for being too stupid to see it before. He had just made Theon watch a story about a mother who tragically is losing her mind to Alzheimer’s when Theon’s mother is somewhere being taken care of because she’s lost her mind and to top it off she had family who died in a car accident and Theon’s brothers had been killed that way.

The strangled noises from behind the door became louder and Robb knew what he had to do.

“THEON MOVE OUT OF THE DOORWAY!”

Robb charged at the innocent bathroom door and swiftly collided with it and tore the poor thing from its hinges as he fell into the bathroom on top of the door. Once he had recollected himself he stood up to see Theon curled up a few steps away from him curled-up, red-eyed and tear stained. He stepped slowly over to him and sat slowly, placing his hand over his shoulder and drawing him near.

“Theon, it’s okay,” Robb whispered into his ear, “I’m here for you, everything Is going to be fine.”

Theon sniffled and turned his face into the crook of Robb’s neck and he felt warm tears trickle from Theon’s face.

“I’m sorry Robb I-I-I just-” Theon managed to sob before Robb hushed him.

“Theon, you don’t need to apologise I should’ve been a better friend and realised sooner,” Robb talked into Theon’s hair as he leaned down, “I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Theon chuckled meekly, “Robb, I don’t think you could be a better friend.”

He turned his head up to make eye contact with Robb and drew him into a hug as he pushed him down to lay on the floor, Robb’s chest becoming his pillow. Theon felt a hand carding through his hair as Robb closed his arms around him and told him to rest, he pressed his head to hear Robb’s steady heartbeat and let his body melt into his arms and his consciousness slipped away.

 

* * *

 

 

Jon stumbled up the stairs to the apartment dragging Ygritte close behind and she laughed as he tripped slightly on the final step.

“Poor little Jon can’t hold his drink?” Ygritte laughed, “Ya’ need me to hold your pretty curls back while you puke sweetie?”

Jon grunted in reply and continued towards their door and fumbled with the keys before finding the correct one and clicking into the lock. The door swung open as Jon pushed heavily and dragged Ygritte into the apartment but Jon stopped as he looked around to the uneaten popcorn and the paused movie on the TV, _what had they been up to?_ Ygritte seemed to ignore this and strutted past Jon and walked to his bedroom – so much for “I promise it’ll just be coffee Jon”.

“Uh, Jon, you’d better come see this.” Came Ygritte’s giggly voice from the hallway.

Jon walked to the couch where Theon usually sat and took the popcorn bowl for himself also grabbing the remote and turning off the TV and walked towards the hallway to their bedrooms where he could see Ygritte smirking at the open bathroom.

“What are you even looking at?” Jon questioned as he moved towards whatever had Ygritte transfixed but as he got close he realised that the door wasn’t open – there was no door at all. He looked into the bathroom with astonishment and worry as Ygritte pointed his head away from the now defunct door to an even more confusing picture of Theon sleeping in Robb’s arms on the bathroom floor.

“Wow,” Jon stood flabbergasted at the sight before him.

“No one’s going to believe this,” Ygritte pulled out her phone and the flash of a camera went off. They shared a look before they burst into fits of stifled laughter, careful as to not wake the sleeping couple before them.

“You know, I thought this would happen eventually but I _definitely_ didn’t expect it to go down like this,” Jon said, giving a mournful look to the piece of wood that had previously been the door to the bathroom.

“I don’t know Jon, spooning on the bathroom floor with a broken down door is exactly how I pictured it.”

The pair burst into laughter as Ygritte departed to Jon’s bedroom but he stopped and watched for a little while, noticing their slight shivers on the cold tiled floor and walked to the linen closet to get a spare blanket. He carefully stepped over the door into the bathroom and placed the blanket over the slumbering pair and left them in favour of Ygritte’s company which he didn’t doubt would involve more than spooning although they probably wouldn’t end up breaking a door.

Jon chuckled to himself at the thought because with Ygritte, you could never know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to let me know what you thought it by leaving a comment! :)


	2. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I hope it was worth it though.

The glow from behind the curtains had barely become noticeable when Ygritte decided it was time to make her exit. Jon’s breathing was deep and even signalling that he was still in a deep slumber. Although observing him she might have thought that he was dead given that his breath was relatively silent and he didn’t really move at all during the night, even his hands were still tucked around her waist.

Jon was unmistakably alive though, his body warmth surprising, given the cold that her face could feel not being shielded by sheets as the rest of her was.

_Not waking up to a dead boy is a good thing - but it does make it harder to leave._

Ygritte let the thought linger for a moment before slowly starting to formulate her escape from Jon’s arms, going over the many techniques she had learned for avoiding awkward morning encounters after long-nights – though she wasn’t doing this because she disliked the thought of spending the morning with Jon. In fact, she quite liked the thought of Jon’s grumpy face sipping into coffee and her laughing at him from across the table over breakfast. She liked Jon a lot – not that she’d tell him that, yet – and she had her own style of doing things.

_Leave them wanting more._

Ygritte knew that Jon definitely wanted whatever they had been doing for the past fortnight to be something more, but she was going to have to make him get off his arse to actually initiate anything of that kind; which meant that she was going to have to make him see what he needed to do to be with her. She wouldn’t fall head over heels like some needy princess.

She removed herself from her thoughts and went back to the task at hand, slowly she reached her hands to Jon’s and settled on them letting herself have a moment before beginning to slowly untwine his fingers from each other and unravelling his grip. Jon’s hands were soon separated and lay limp on her body but he hadn’t moved and his body was still pressed against her back; Ygritte began to carefully lift the sheets off her carefully to not leave Jon out in the open air.

She placed Jon’s overarching arm onto his side and began to slowly roll off the arm that was beneath her body and swivelled her body to sit up when she reached the end of the bed. The ritual of silently collecting her scattered clothes from the floor was nearly over before she decided that she was going to let her jacket remain here, the lighter she had stolen from Jon still in the left pocket.

Walking back to her apartment without her jacket would be less pleasant, but her sacrifice would pay off - no matter how long it took for Jon to come to his senses.

 

* * *

 

 

Theon’s body shivered as his mind awoke and began to reconnect with the sensations of his body.

_My face is cold and my left side feels like it might be bruised, good bloody morning world._

His eyes were shut as he went about assessing the feelings that were becoming apparent all over his body. Whatever hard surface he was on was definitely the cause of the dull pain in his side and even though his face was cold his neck was oddly warm – and whatever blanket covered his back was definitely warmer than the rest of the room.

The unlikeliness of a blanket _breathing_ on his neck anchored him back into reality.

_What. The. Fuck._

A rectangle of wood reached his vision first as he opened his eyes quickly and adjusted to the new level of light. Theon became only more confused when he realised it was a door – to his bathroom. The muscles in his body tensed when hands pulled him closer to the warm figure and he looked at the hands around him – a man’s hands. His mouth hung open as thoughts crossed his mind.

_Why am I being spooned on the bathroom floor?_

_Why am I being spooned by a man?_

His thoughts wandered to the last time he had been the one being spooned and Theon winced – it had been Ramsay Bolton. He didn’t want to be reminded of him at all, after his few months of hell he hadn’t even attempted to sleep with a guy because he didn’t want anyone remotely similar and girls played that role perfectly.

_Why is the door broken?_

However, this question would have to wait as he noticed a leather bracelet with a silver charm hanging off on the wrist of the offending party. Theon froze his breathing as his vision registered the shape of the charm; it was the unmistakable sigil of the Stark family. Robb Stark’s face struck terror into Theon as he turned his head to look at the sleeping wolf that had been keeping him warm.

Memories of the night came back to him and it was a mess. Most of what Theon could remember was him trying to not cry on the couch before his brilliant plan of calming himself down in the bathroom had backfired and he had found himself unable to stop crying or even move.

_That’s how the bloody door got smashed_

Robb breaking down the door to the bathroom certainly was an image that should have been very hard to forget, but the memory of Robb coming to comfort him was something else entirely. His arms wrapping to protect him from his thoughts, holding until he was falling asleep in his arms, the arms that still held him the morning after  - that was something he never wanted to forget.

_I never want him to let go_

Crossing some minor boundaries between friends was usually fine when it came to situations like these and he remembered that this kind of thing had been a regular occurrence in the aftermath of what Ramsay had done to him. Robb had been the person who had picked up all the pieces after what had happened, the one who brought him back to himself.

He had thought it ironic that the person he ran from to save himself from being hurt had held him together after Ramsay, who he thought would liberate him had been the one to nearly take everything away. During his time with Ramsay the feelings he had for Robb had subsided for a while, but the thought of Robb was what he held onto when everything collapsed and he’d nearly lost himself; suffocating under the ruins of his life and the torment of Bolton. He had tried to distance himself but in the end he was saved by Robb, again.

 

Robb had always been there since they had first met and seemed to be the sole reason why his life wasn’t utter shit.

_I don’t deserve him_

Now he’d only fallen back into the fire and Robb had no idea he was stoking the flames.

 _It’s true, what Ramsay said about me: I was filled with hopeless desire and I_ reek _ed of it_

When Theon became aware of himself he was still staring at Robb’s face but his eyes were filled with tears and his whole body was shaking; arms were no longer wrapped around his waist and his body had turned to Robb’s. He didn’t know how long he’d been like this but it had been long enough because open blue eyes now stared back into his.

 

* * *

 

 

This was not how Robb had expected to wake up.

Theon’s eyes seemed absent even though they were staring right at him, they possessed a doll-like quality that coupled with the tears springing forth and flat expression made Robb’s stomach churn in worry – he’d seen him like this before . He placed an arm on his shoulder and held it tightly.

“Theon you’re going to be okay,” Robb said as he brought himself and Theon to up sit and face one another slowly and held both of his’s tense shoulders still and looked into his eyes, “breathe in slowly with me – deep breaths, come on.”

Robb began to slowly breathe in, rubbing his shoulders comfortingly. Breathing exercises were usually enough to help anchor Theon back whenever he had an episode like this and he hadn’t had one in months. Robb had taken a couple of courses at the local community health centre to help learn how to help Theon in whatever way he could in his recovery after he had broken into the apartment covered in blood and sweat over a year ago. He never pushed Theon to tell him what Ramsay had put him through but he had told him enough and he helped him press charges but that didn’t stop the night terrors, panic attacks and insomnia.

He praised Theon after every successful breath, “You’re doing great, just a few more.”

“You’re safe here.”

“I’ve got you.”

Robb brought him closer into an embrace, tracing circles into his shoulder blade as his breathing stabilised. Theon moved slowly to lean into the small of his neck and pressed his face down as he lifted his arms up to reciprocate the hug.

“Are you alright? I woke up and you were shaking,” Robb whispered down into his ear, “I was worried about you.”

Theon’s body seemed to give out and he gave into Robb’s hold as he laid them down, treating him with the utmost care and holding him close as though he might collapse into dust. Robb ran his fingers lightly through Theon’s hair as their breaths became synchronised and all the tension in him seemed to trickle down through him and disappear into the tiled floor.

Robb felt Theon scrape against his heavy stubble as he moved his face to look up at him and their gaze crossed as he looked as though he wanted to say something with a predictably apologetic look on his face.

“I’ve never let you apologise for this and I’m not starting now, I’m going to look after you like I ‘m supposed to.” Promised Robb, his hand in Theon’s hair settled on his cheek as tears began to well in his eyes.

“Now and always?” Theon whispered back as he drew himself up so that their eyes were at level and brought his own hand up to hold the hand resting on his face.

The blue of Robb’s eyes began overflow, trickling down his face as he brought their mouths together and they shut their eyes into a soft kiss that set flames alive in his chest and took him back to the memory of the promise they had made. Air was the only reason he pulled away but he felt like he was drowning without Theon’s lips.

“Now and always.”

 

* * *

 

 

Theon was blushing far more than he’d ever admit to and his mouth curled into a smile as he pressed his forehead against Robb’s whose own face was also covered in a shade of crimson close to matching his sleep-rustled curls.

Looking around at the scene of them in the bathroom Theon let out a light chuckle as he became aware of how ridiculous the whole scene looked.

“Jon’s going to have a fucking fit at you for breaking the door,” Theon whispered to Robb, forcing a few giggles from him.

“I don’t really want to think about Jon right now,” Robb spoke softly, almost purring as he leaned into Theon’s neck to press a kiss, “I feel like we have a lot of time to make use of before we need to worry about anyone but us.”

Huffing in agreement, Theon became pliable as he let Robb take control.

“How long have you, you know…”

“Liked you?” Robb said hesitantly, “I don’t really know, I think it wasn’t something that I was really aware of until we were in middle school. I just never really even considered that I might have liked you so when finally I realised I think I’d probably liked you for a while already.”

Robb paused for a few seconds before asking “What about you then?”

Theon blushed and start to recall the first time he realised he had feelings that crossed over the border between friendship and love.

“Mine started a little earlier I guess then,” Theon said shyly, “It was during elementary school probably around third grade when girls started taking notice of you and I realised that maybe it wasn’t just because I wanted your attention but because I wanted you to myself…”

Robb grabbed his head and sealed their lips together and gazed deep into his eyes with a pleading look as to say:

_I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you sooner_

“If you repeat what I just told you I’ll have to murder you,” Theon deadpanned as Robb fell back into a fit of laughter.

“I’m serious! I have a tough guy reputation to uphold here,” Theon scolded as seriously as he could manage but only drew more laughter out of Robb who was gasping for air now.

Theon rolled his eyes and sat as he waited for Robb to finally move on and with an expression could rival Jon Snow’s legendary pout. Once Robb had calmed himself he slowly stood himself up, stretching his arms as he yawned and offered a hand to help Theon off the floor. Accepting the offer reluctantly he grabbed the hand offered to him and followed Robb out of the bathroom after carefully stepping over the door – Jon would be even more pissed if he scuffed or somehow managed damage it further.

“The boy from the Iron Islands with the heart of gold” Robb jeered at him which earned him a playful push and a scowl as they made their way from the hallway to the main living area.

Walking over to the couch and flopping himself down with a groan, Theon reached for the spot he had remembered leaving his relatively untouched bowl of popcorn. He remembered having left there and frowned into the throw pillow he had rested his head on when his hand felt nothing but empty space. The turned off TV clued him in on what had happened as he realised Jon was probably the culprit of this crime and he craned his head up to spot Robb making coffee.

“I think Jon brought someone back with him last night, there’s a half full cup of coffee that only looks about an hour old and I know I heard him snoring before” Robb said while emptying the contents of the mug down the drain of the sink.

Robb stood still and pondered before speaking up again, “Do you think they saw us?”

“Probably not considering you’d have to be smashed to want a night with Snow,” Theon snapped, laughing at his own joke.

“Don’t be a dick, Theon.”

Robb walked towards the couch carrying two cups that filled the stale air of their apartment with the smell of coffee. Theon sat up and moved over to give Robb space to sit next to him as he handed him his cup, he took a small sip and winced when felt the heat burn his tongue lightly and decided was just a bit too hot to drink. Sitting in silence they avoided the question they both had on their minds as they waited for their coffees to cool slightly – at least then they would have an excuse to not be speaking.

Theon took the lead and forced himself to say the words, “What happens now?”

Robb sipped at his coffee, able to stand the heat of the drink before putting it down on their coffee table and sat in thought, trying to formulate a response to the question that plagued both their minds but neither seemed to have a solid answer.

“What do you want to happen?” Robb asked, beckoning a response from him.

“I-I know what I want to happen,” stammered Theon as he place his mug next to Robb’s on the table, “I just don’t know if I could handle it if it didn’t work out.”

Theon knew that extreme self-doubt wasn’t the usual reaction to the person who you’ve been in love with nearly your whole life tells you they love you back – well not in those exact words, anyway. Having a relationship with Robb was something he had dreamt of for far too long to throw away but just as these feeling has lead him down the path to self-destruction, would this relationship? Departing previously from Robb’s life on good terms had been horrible enough but a failed relationship could tear him apart and leave him with nothing.

“I want us,” Theon said with finality he didn’t think he could muster and looked down into his lap where he was fidgeting with his fingers.

Robb took Theon’s hands into his own and wove their fingers together tightly like the knots forming in both their stomachs.

“We’ll make it work, we always have,” Robb whispered as he moved Theon’s hand up to kiss his scarred fingers, “I won’t let you slip away again – once was already too much.”

Theon forced Robb down onto his back and crawled atop him, “I love you, Robb.”

“I love you too Theon.”

 

* * *

 

 

An empty space was what he should have expected when waking after a night with Ygritte but Jon was still disappointed.

Jon hadn’t even been to Ygritte’s apartment yet but she’d stayed overnight with Jon a few times and always left before he could wake up. He wanted the opportunity to say good morning or the experience of sleeping in late and just wanting to be in each other’s arms but he had never been one to be too forward.

_That’s probably why we’re not even ‘dating’ yet._

Jon sat up and stretched his arms and shoulders before looking at the crumpled sheets and pillow with fine strands of red hair serving as evidence of their tryst. He turned to sit on the edge of his bed before groaning as he stumbled over to his window. Opening the curtains, Jon’s drinking caught up with him as his eyes throbbed at the sudden influx of light sprawling from the window above his chest of drawers.

His wristwatch told him that it was approximately nine o’clock and even though he and his body wanted to sleep he knew he had to do something. The broken door would drive him crazy and he’s sure that Theon was probably the only one comfortable showering with no door.

_I should probably head down to whatever hardware store is nearest and get this finished today._

Slipping into comfortable sweatpants and a band t-shirt he looked around for a pair of shoes – it’s not like anyone in the store would care how he was dressed. He spied his shoes over the other side of the bed and walked over but not before nearly tripping on a jacket he hadn’t noticed. Ygritte’s jacket. He reached down to pick it up and checked inside the pockets and found his lighter and smokes.

_I wonder if I should call her or something so she could pick it up_

Jon reached for his shoes and took the jacket with him as he walked back to get his phone from his bedside table. As he dialled Ygritte’s number to ask if he could give it to her friend at the bar with the thick, red beard he thought of a much better idea. A much, much better idea.

He flicked through his phone and opened up Snapchat and took a picture of the jacket he held in his hands and added a caption.

`                Missing something?`

Jon went to lie on his bed and wait for a return snap, Ygritte always replied fast. The icon next to her name showed she had opened it only a few seconds after it had been delivered and his phone buzzed as he received a reply.

`                Nice to see you’re alive`

The picture was of her feet up on a table next to a laptop. Jon laid back down on his bed and opened up the chat.

`SnowProblems:   You doing anything today`

`SnowProblems:   ?`

`KissedByFire:   Nothing that couldn’t be ignored`

`KissedByFire:   What’re you scheming Snow? Or do you need someone to brood with because I’m afraid no one could match your pout. `

`SnowProblems:   ...`

`SnowProblems:   I do not brood and pout all day`

`KissedByFire:   Could’ve fooled me`

Ygritte sent a picture of her looking as sullen as possible with a mop on her head to imitate Jon’s hair with a single word caption.

`                Jon`

He looked at the photo disapprovingly before breaking out into a smile; he opened the camera and switched to selfie mode and captures his smirk and sends it to her without any caption.

KissedByFire has taken a screenshot!

`SnowProblems:   Really?`

`KissedByFire:   Jon Snow smiling is a rare and pretty sight`

Jon tried to ignore the blush growing on his cheeks as he typed a response.

`SnowProblems:   Hahaha very funny :|`

`KissedByFire:   Oh no!`

`KissedByFire:   Have I angered the Lord Commander?`

Jon groaned painfully loud at the mention of ‘Lord Commander’. He was playing some weird drinking game with Ygritte and her friends when somehow he ended up telling them that a girl once called him ‘Lord Commander’ while they were having sex - and that he liked it. Jon had been completely smashed that night; not one of his finest moments.

`SnowProblems:   I’m going to pretend that you didn’t say that`

`SnowProblems:   Getting back to the point...`

`SnowProblems:   Do you want to help me fix the door? I don’t actually have a set of tools in the apartment and I know your friend gave you some.     `

`KissedByFire:   Yeah I still have Tormund's old tool set     
`

`KissedByFire:   You need to get some new hinges right? I didn’t think anything else was that bad?`

At the realisation he was going to the store _with_ her he slipped on a different, nicer looking pair of black jeans but kept the band t-shirt – it had been the same one he was wearing when they met. He walked out of his room and to outside the viewing window to the bathroom and sent a various pictures of the wall and door.

` KissedByFire:   It all looks like an easy fix but more importantly`

`KissedByFire:   Where did the lovebirds fly to?`

Empty space in the bathroom now became a puzzle for Jon as his mind was taken back to last night’s happenings. It didn’t really come so much as a shock to him that they were being intimate – well, more intimate than usual. Theon and Robb had been mistaken for a couple enough times for it to be an in-joke and he had kind of expected that they might harbour more than friendly feelings for each other for a while. ‘A while’ meaning since they were teenagers. Jon just hadn’t expected him to find them like that; on the floor in the bathroom, with the door broken.

`SnowProblems:   I actually forgot about them lol, let’s go find them.`

Jon pressed the video call button that he actually had yet to try since the app had updated and the ringing began.

“What’re you waiting for Nancy Drew?” Ygritte said, her smirking face on Jon’s screen, “Let’s get to it.”

Jon laughed, “Morning to you too, Ygritte.”

Jon crept up the hallway back to the door opposite to his, Robb’s room. He slowly turned the handle and peered his head in to look at the empty room before him.

“I can’t see inside the room when you hold me outside the door, wanker.”

“Now who’s being a ‘Lord Commander’?” chided Jon as he directed the phone into the empty room.

Ygritte brought her face close to the camera and rolled her eyes. Jon closed the door as he slowly moved up the hall to Theon’s room and once again, opened the door slowly and looked in – this time with the camera. Empty.

“How do you afford to live there?” Ygritte questioned and gave a glare into the camera, “you all pay for uni don’t you?”

“Yeah we all insisted that father didn’t pay for our tuition so he insisted on giving paying for accommodation which happened to be here,” answered Jon, stopping in front of the guest room door that was across from Theon’s, “we all ended up getting scholarships anyway so we’re pretty good.”

“I didn’t think Theon would be the scholarship type.”

“Well, his case is different it’s more of ‘financial assistance’ since he had some – uh – big problems for a while.” Jon said and tried not to think about the grisly details.

Ygritte nodded slowly, seeming to understand that it was something she probably shouldn’t pry into. The opening of the door was much faster and Jon sighed as the room was once again empty. Jon was about to say something before a sound echoed down the hall, Ygritte seemed to have heard something too.

Jon usually wasn’t happy about it but today he was particularly gleeful to be hearing the snore of brother – or cousin, but he really didn’t care for technicalities. He tiptoed down the hall as Ygritte’s face stared intently at the screen while he made his way to the living area. Jon walked silently as he located the offending pair on the couch. Theon was lying atop Robb’s chest and his left arm was holding onto his shoulder lightly while they each had one arm hanging from the couch; they were holding hands.

“Robb’s even got his other hand combing through Theon’s hair,” Ygritte snorted and broke into laughter, “Gods this is hilarious.”

“Stop being so loud, you’ll wake them,” Jon said through laughter of his own.

Ygritte paused for a second before she spoke again, “You’ll have to actually introduce me to them for real, you tell me all these stories and show me pictures but I’ve never met any of your friends or family – it’s going to be weird meeting them already considering how much I know.”

Jon flipped the camera back to his face as he sat down on the couch not occupied by his friend – boyfriend, maybe?

“I know Ygritte,” Jon sighed, “I was just nervous, you know? You’re going to meeting them today anyway so why don’t you stay for dinner or something – only if you want to of course.”

“It’s a date” Ygritte stated happily as she abruptly ended the video call.

`KissedByFire:   If you don’t get pictures of them I’m disowning you`

`KissedByFire:   Just thought you should know`

`SnowProblems:   Always the romantic aren’t you`

Jon quickly snapped a few pictures of Theon and Robb in their position.

`SnowProblems:   I got one of Theon drooling, he’s going to kill me`

`SnowProblems:   But of course I’ll just threaten to release them to the world and we all can see how disgustingly cute the 'ironborn' can be lol`

`KissedByFire:   aww you’re so cute when you’re blackmailing people`

`KissedByFire:   So why do you need to get the door fixed so soon anyway?`

`SnowProblems:   Am I weird for wanting to shower with a closed door?`

`KissedByFire:   You need to be more adventurous`

`SnowProblems:   Maybe we’ll just have to test exactly how much privacy this door gives then`

Jon hoped his feigned confidence would pay off as he blushed, embarrassed by the forwardness of his own words. It seemed to work as he received a snap of Ygritte’s face staring alluringly into the camera – smirking as though she knew something he didn’t. He walked back to his room slowly to retrieve his shoes when he looked at the jacket that Ygritte had accidentally left behind.

_Lucky she forgot to take it_

Jon thought of the day ahead as he put on his shoes and grabbed his keys, wallet and the jacket.

`SnowProblems:   Leaving to pick you up now, I hope you know where we’re going to lol`

`SnowProblems:   Also, I kind of need to know your address to do that`

 

* * *

 

 

Ygritte smirked, messaging Jon her address and she walked to her bedroom and decided to change into something more flattering – sweatpants didn’t tend to send the signals she was trying to send to Jon. Though Jon in sweatpants was an entirely different story for her, she didn’t know how he managed to do it. Maybe it was that she first saw him in gym working out when she decided she wanted to talk – well, a little bit more than talk – with him and she approached him that night in a bar that she followed him to.

She sighed as she fell back onto her bed, now in a pair of jeans.

 _The jacket seems to have worked out well_                  

Ygritte smirked and decided that her plan to get Jon to finally make a move was a brilliant success.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed it feel free to let me know in the comments if you would like more of this, I'd be open to writing more of this verse if people are interested in it! Con. criticism is welcome and encouraged - have a nice day everyone :)
> 
> Come say 'hi' to me on [tumblr!](https://distractedbylife.tumblr.com/)


	3. DIY - Destroy It Yourself!

 

Breathing in slowly Robb came to, taking in the warmth of Theon and appreciating his relaxed breaths. The sound of the air was soothing and Robb was tempted to ignore any daytime activity for just cuddling on the couch up until his attention was drawn to more pressing matters.

This particular matter was increasingly _pressing_ into Theon.

Robb, the responsible and mature adult that he was went rigid before panicking and tried to withdraw himself from Theon’s touch to create some distance from his increasingly-tight jeans. Theon went from full contact on Robb to full contact on the floor as his slack body rolled off the couch.

Robb’s heart dropped faster than Theon did but it probably hurt less.

**Thunk.**

Groaning echoed through the cold apartment as Robb winced before leaning over the edge to check if he was okay. If looks could kill, Theon would probably have been charged with third degree murder as he made hazy eye contact with the curly mess looming over him. Robb broke into a wounded look as Theon rolled his eyes and laid his head on the floor.

“Piss off with the doe-eyes, Stark.”

Robb snorted in reply, grabbing a throw pillow and dropping it on the floor for Theon who immediately snatched it and buried his face into the soft lump - eliciting a soft smile from the man standing above him. Robb walked stiffly to the kitchen fumbled around to find something for them both to eat. Observing the state of the pantry it became clear to him that he was stuck with toast unless he wanted to eat stale cereal with slightly out-of-date milk.

“Want some coffee with your toast?” Asked Robb, amused at the sight of Theon sprawled out on the floor. He interpreted the grunt that followed as a yes and popped the bread in the toaster before making way to their coffee machine.

A few minutes later Robb sat opposite Theon at their coffee table. Plates of toast and mugs off coffee in sat in front of them respectively as they sat in silence, unsure whether to eat or talk. Robb moved his lips to voice something but was interrupted by a grumbling stomach from the other side of the table.

“Eat first, talk later,” Theon said and grabbed a piece of toast began to devour it.

Robb was more than happy to oblige as he took a sip of his coffee and started on consuming his own toast. He ate slowly, taking measured bites which were a contrast to Theon’s ravenous chewing which had earned him many disapproving looks from others at meals.

_What makes everything you do so lovable?_

Robb continued to be absorbed in his own thoughts as he finished his breakfast a few minutes later than Theon had, now slumped back into the couch and heartily gulping his coffee. They sat in silence for a while before – unexpectedly – Theon opened up first.

“If you want to take back what you said earlier,” Theon said unsurely, “I’ll understand.”

Robb’s face downturned at the words and he stood up slowly, placing his empty mug gently on the able. He walked measuredly around the table and in front of the couch where Theon was looking distantly out of the apartment and into bustling cityscape. Robb sat down and placed a hand on his shoulder and waited for him to turn and make eye contact.

_What makes you think you’re so unlovable?_

It wasn’t that Robb didn’t know the answers that lay in his past; he just wished they didn’t haunt Theon’s future.

“No, of course not.”

Robb pressed the words into Theon’s lips with a kiss, a promise to stay. Theon smiled weakly and leaned on Robb’s shoulder, breathing deeply and swallowing the reminder of his coffee.

“I just needed to hear you say it.”

“And every time you ask I’ll tell you the same thing.”

They both sat there for a while, breathing in each other’s scent and feeling the warmth of their bodies before Theon leaned forward and placed his mug down on the coffee table. Theon stayed lean forward and Robb came forward to see Theon frowning in thought.

“I was just thinking…”

“What’s up Theon?”

Theon turned to look at Robb, “where’s Snow?”

 

* * *

 

 

Jon turned off the car as he looked up at the building he had just parked in front of which was apparently where Ygritte lived. It was a brick building that was only a few stories tall and looked a little rough around the edges but in a nice way, like a home – like Ygritte. He sat waiting in the car and leaned back into the headrest, tapping along to the beat of the music resounding from his stereo. Jon sang along quietly relaxing himself into the seat and closed his eyes.

**TAP. TAP. TAP.**

Jon jumped in his seat and hit his head on the roof of the car at the aggressive intrusion into his quiet space. The passenger door to the car suddenly swung open and the offender sat herself in the seat looking far too amused for a disturber-of-peace.

“Bloody hell, Ygritte,” Jon groaned and rubbed his head with a frown.

“Well I’m not going to jump into a car without any notice am I?”  Ygritte said, “Besides I didn’t know if you were still alive considering how you always manage to look like someone’s holding a gun to your head.”

Ygritte did her best to imitate Jon’s ever-anxious look and he started the car, shaking his head. He pulled out of his parking spot and Ygritte ruffled his hair which Jon fixed immediately in the view of himself in the mirror. Despite the annoyance on his face this was probably Jon’s happiest morning in months, he always felt at-ease around Ygritte regardless of what was happening. Having someone else take control for a change was freeing.

“So where are we actually going?”

“Mormont hardware, I already put the address into your phone’s GPS.”

_When did she manage to grab my phone?_

 A feminine voice directed him to turn left in 100 metres. Ygritte tapped away on Jon’s phone and the music from the speakers paused abruptly.

“What’s wrong with my music?”

“Jon your music is so depressing I’m surprised you haven’t veered into oncoming traffic yet,” Ygritte said with a pointed look.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jon could see Ygritte searching through Spotify for a while before guitar riffs started to belt out at a much louder volume than he was used to. Jon tapped on the steering wheel approvingly while he navigated the traffic.

“What do you think the other two are up to?”

Jon’s phone began vibrating as it Ygritte’s words were magic. She checked the caller ID and confirmed that it was in fact one of ‘the other two’ calling and she accepted and turned it to speaker phone.

Faint whispers could be heard in the background of the call but a voice Jon identified as Robb for Ygritte soon piped up.

“Uh,” Robb paused, “hey Jon.”

“Hi Robb,” Jon said suspiciously, “what did you want?”

Ygritte and Jon eyed each other, both having detected the nervousness and hesitation in his voice.

“I was just um,” Robb paused again and there was another set of hushes whispers, “wondering where you went and stuff, you know.”

“Right, well we’re currently headed to Mormont Hardware to pick up some stuff to fix the broken bathroom door,” Jon’s tone changed to a deadpan, “you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you Robb?”

The silence on the end of the line said more than Robb Stark’s words ever could.

“I hope you also realise that you’ll be paying me back for anything I buy.”

“Seems fair I guess.”

“How did you manage to break down the door in the first place?”

“Well I kind of…broke it down.”

“Yeah, Robb, I think we already discussed that.”

“No I mean I,” Robb gulped audibly and Ygritte sniggered, “broke it down…intentionally.”

Ygritte started cackling as Jon’s tapping turned to an iron grip on the steering wheel as he rounded a corner aggressively.

“Who’s that laughing in the background, are you there Jon?”

“I’m in the car with Ygritte but that doesn’t even matter, why the hell did you break down the bloody bathroom door?”

Jon was fuming and Ygritte observed his nostrils flaring – like a dragon – and that he kind of looked sexy while mad.

“Well, Theon was in there.”

“SO YOU BROKE DOWN THE DOOR?!”

Ygritte was wiping tears from her eyes as Robb fumbled his words to compose himself and Jon beeped his horn aggressively at a slow driver.

“No-no-no-no-no Jon he couldn’t open it himself and it was locked.”

“How was Greyjoy not able to turn a door handle?”

“Well he was,” Robb paused and whispers could be heard again, “drunk, very drunk completely and totally inebriated.”

_Does Robb not understand how much of an obvious lie that was, even for his standards?_

“Right-o then Robb, whatever you say.”

“Yeah, exactly…right.”

Jon resisted the urge to slam his face down and crash the car when he heard what was _clearly_ Robb’s voice say ‘I told you he’d believe it’.  Jon decided to address the forgotten elephant in the room.

“So Robb how is Theon by the way since you obviously took care of him.”

“Oh yeah Theon’s great he’s just sleeping right now.”

_Great to know that either Robb thinks I’m an idiot or he has started whispering conversations to himself._

“Nothing happen with Theon…and you that we should know about?”

The GPS let Jon know that he had ‘arrived at his destination’ as he turned to park the car.

“Ah no we’re both fine… I didn’t drink.”

Ygritte sighed, being sick of him dancing around the subject decided to speak up, “What Jon means to say is that-”

Jon reached over and quickly hit the end call button.

“Jon what the fuck was that?”

“Ygritte just trust me Theon and Robb have more issues going on with them than there are stars in the sky, they’ll tell us when they’re both ready.”

“Are you boys always this dramatic and thick-headed?”

Jon told himself that his refusal to respond to that comment as they left the car was to not even bother dignifying something so ridiculous; but in all honesty everything around him always seemed to be pointlessly complicated.

 

* * *

 

 

The last twenty-four hours had been a wild-ride for Theon Greyjoy and it didn’t seem like it was going to stop there – fate had a funny way of making him flounder.

“That went well didn’t it?” Robb said sounding twice as unsure than he had before they decided to call Jon.

Theon gave a lacklustre shrug and re-joined Robb on the couch from where he had been pacing and offering his best guidance on what to say. He was sure the conversation had gone smoothly and everything was as it should be – minus the whole being in a secret relationship with your brother part. So, maybe everything wasn’t as good as it _could_ be but it was going well.

_I’m not even totally convinced that he doesn’t know, surprisingly Jon seems to have a brain under all that hair and he usually knows how to approach shit like this._

“Are you sure he doesn’t know about,” Theon gestured loosely between the two, “us?”

“I don’t know, how would he know anyway?”

Theon felt like he was about to pop a vein, “Well we kind of were spooning on the floor and then the couch this morning.”

“Touché.”

“Maybe he knows that we don’t know that he knows.”

“But don’t we know that he…knows?”

“I don’t know.”

Robb planted his face into his hands and took a deep breath, they’d called to try and figure out the current situation they were in but they’d just thrown themselves into a bigger mess.

“Do you think we’re ready to tell people that we’re in a relationship?”

“Robb, I don’t even know if I’m ready _for_ a relationship, it kind of just happened.”

Robb reached his hand over to Theon’s and gave it a light squeeze and held it in a firm but gentle grip. There were a few moments but Theon eventually gave a reaffirming squeeze of Robb’s own hand. He wasn’t sure how he knew or if he should trust it but somehow he knew that no matter how, everything would work out for them – after all this was a relationship years in the making.

Everything working out as _expected_ was a completely different story though.

 

* * *

 

 

Ygritte had no idea how she managed to rope herself into someone else’s relationship mess but she sure wasn’t pleased with it.

“So we just have to pretend we don’t know.”

“Yes.”

“Even though we know?”

“Yes.”

“Even though they probably know?”

Jon paused, “Yes.”

Ygritte pulled Jon through the aisles and picked up the equipment she would need to fix up the door:  some screws and a couple of new hinges. She walked Jon up to the counter where a man named whose nametag read Jorah was standing behind a quite young-looking girl.

“Jorah, you haven’t kidnapped a child have you?”

“No I can’t say I have,” Jorah gave a hearty laugh, “this is my cousin Lyanna.”

The girl looked at Ygritte and Jon stoically and Jorah walked her through charging them for their purchases. Jon paid – as he should for his own repairs- and he grabbed the plastic bag with the supplies from the counter. They began to walk out before a monotone voice called out for them.

“You forgot your receipt.”

Turning back they both walked up to the counter and Jon quickly deposited the receipt and gave the girl a ‘thanks’ and tried to leave again but Ygritte had struck up conversation.

“So, Lyanna, why is a young girl like you working in a dreary place like this?”

“Because Jorah can’t do his job.”

Ygritte grinned and Jon covered his mouth to stifle a laugh, the girl had a sharp tongue for her age.

“Yeah Jorah’s a bit of a slave-driver isn’t he?”

This time Jon didn’t even bother trying to conceal his amusement at the comment and Lyanna was grinning too. Jorah gave a disapproving stare at the comment, being compared to a slave-driver obviously wasn’t something he liked.

“You know if you really want to get under his skin,” Ygritte said, leaning onto the counter to get closer to Lyanna, “just ask him about the architect that he gets most of his orders from.”

 “Are you talking about Daenerys?” Lyanna said, far too menacingly than should be possible for someone that young.

Jorah jumped at the sound of the name and knocked a few things down that were hanging on the wall behind him. Jon also began to look interested in joining the conversation at the sound of the name.

“Are you talking about Daenerys _Targaryen?_ ” Jon said, not hiding the surprise in his voice.

Jorah jumped again while attempting to replace the items he had torn down but managed to drop down more at the sound of the mysterious woman’s last name. He quickly put all the items back and walked over to join in the conversation.

“Yes, Daenerys Targaryen who happens to be a very _valuable_ customer of mine.”

“Oh she’s my aunt.”

Everyone was taken aback by Jon’s comment; Daenerys Targaryen is a well-known architect who comes from a prestigious family – so how was Jon related to her in the first place? Jorah looked positively elated upon hearing this news and started firing quick-fire questions and oddly personal questions about his aunt.  Jon started to look uncomfortable being on the end of a verbal-assault and Ygritte decided it was about time they leave. She waved goodbye and dragged a stumbling Jon out of the store.

“Gods what the hell was that Ygritte? It felt like I was being interrogated.”

“I think you may want to warn your aunt that she has a stalker.”

Jon got into the car laughing but he stopped to consider actually texting her to let her know. Jon put the key into the ignition and turned, bringing the car to life as he pulled out onto the road.

“Ygritte don’t we need a drill to fix the door?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t own a drill though.”

“Yes.”

“Are you taking the piss out of me for what I said earlier?”

Ygritte grinned, “Yes.”

Jon would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t concerned about road safety.

“So where are we getting this drill from then, are we borrowing it from someone?”

“Wow! Not just a pretty face, are we Snow?”

Ygritte grabbed Jon’s phone again and tapped away on at the screen, typing in the address they would need to go. Soon enough, the voice was back telling Jon he needed to turn right. They made idle chit-chat as Jon followed the instructions relayed by voice to a less-savoury part of town where he stopped.

“So who exactly are we getting the drill from?”

“Tormund.”

“Is this friend the one who you said once got so drunk he tried to wrestle a bear?”

“Well he didn’t just _try_ to wrestle a bear but he can tell you the full story tonight.”

“What do you mean he can tell me the-”

One of the doors to the car swung open and a fiery-haired man with a thick beard jumped into the car. Jon’s didn’t even need to ask where the drill was as soon enough Tormund produced the item from his coat, giving it a few revs excitedly. Ygritte gave him an approving wink and told motioned for Jon to get going.

“Nice to finally meet the boy Jon I’ve heard so much about, eh?” Tormund said, sounding very pleased.

“Nice to meet you too, Tormund.”

“But more importantly you two, what are we eating for dinner?”

 

* * *

 

 

Robb hung up the phone and placed it on the desk in his room having gotten done no work today and not intending to try anymore, he shut his laptop. Theon looked over at him from where he was laying on top of the bed.

“That was Jon, he says he’s got the stuff to fix the door,” Robb said, sighing dejectedly.

“Then why do you sound like someone handed you a prison sentence?”

“He’s bringing dinner guests and they’re going to be here soon.”

“Last time I checked we weren’t exactly stocked for a dinner party, we barely had anything for breakfast,” Theon whined and stuck his head into Robb’s pillow, “since we slept in it was more like late-lunch though, but my point remains.”

“Jon said that they had already stopped to get groceries but that he needed to get milk so I’m heading to the corner store.”

Robb stood up from the chair, grabbed his belongings and walked out of his bedroom. “Bye, Theon.

Theon listened to Robb’s footsteps get farther away before they stopped and started increasing in volume again. He turned his head from in the pillow to face the door where Robb obviously was going to say something. Robb sniffed in the air quickly and his face plastered with regret as he was met with the scent of body odour, wafting from the direction of his boyfriend.

“Take a shower before they arrive, please.”

Theon scrunched his face up. “They’ll be missing out on the full Greyjoy experience though.”

“If you ever want to _experience_ the full Robb Stark I suggest you do,” Robb said victoriously, letting his satisfaction show on his face.

_And I thought Starks fought honourably._

“Low blow Stark, low blow.”

Robb walked out for the final time and Theon listened to the sound of the front door opening and closing. Deciding to finally make a move, sat up on Robb’s bed and sauntered down through the hall and into his room where he grabbed fresh clothes. He walked back down the hall and stepped into the bathroom, over the door that Robb had broken – for him.

Theon smiled at the thought, he hadn’t heard of any romantic story where they’d proclaimed their love by breaking down a door.

_Sansa would be so jealous._

He stripped down from his clothes and turned the shower on. Theon didn’t bother turning the bathroom light or exhaust on as there was enough light from the lack of door and the steam would just waft out of the bathroom – right? He turned the water as hot as he could handle and relaxed into the soothing heat that washed over him. The intensity of the heat had caused quite a large amount of steam to form in the bathroom; it was filtering out slower than Theon that had had anticipated. Paying no mind it, Theon began to wash his hair with Jon’s expensive shampoo.

 

* * *

  

Jon parked the car in the twenty-hour park directly across from his apartment, far more tired than he expected to be at this point in the afternoon. Shopping with both Ygritte and the newly-introduced Tormund seemed to be a struggle, more-so than getting them decide what they wanted to eat first. They had settles on steak and mashed potatoes – with a side of corn. A side of corn to Tormund apparently meant buying so much corn that they probably could just cook that instead of the steak and potatoes.

_Why did it have to be corn?_

Ygritte jangled Jon’s keys in her hand and the she took from Tormund in the other. “I think Tormund and will go up and get started on fixing that door now.”

_I’ll just text Robb to come help me; he can’t resist an opportunity like that._

“The door to the apartment can be a bit sticky so sometimes you have to shake the door a little,” Jon said the words and already he felt as though he would regret them, “be gentle.”

Tormund grinned and started walking slowly towards the building. “Don’t worry Snow, gentle is my middle name.”

Jon decided it was time to send Robb that text and to his delight Robb replied almost immediately, accepting the offer.

_Robb has always been eager to please._

 

* * *

 

 

Theon had been minding his own business, enjoying a scorching shower when he heard it.

_Rattle, rattle, rattle._

Dismissing it, he went back to washing the shampoo out of his hair, leaning his head back and letting it drain away.

_Rattle, rattle, rattle._

Again, he dismissed. Robb and Jon were out and no one was going to break into an apartment building like this at the current time in the afternoon. Theon washed the remnants of shampoo out of his hair and reached for Jon’s expensive conditioner. Living with other people made Theon’s life much easier, what he didn’t have or what he didn’t want to but he could simply _borrow_.

**Bang. Click.**

Theon turned the water off immediately, knowing the sounds to be real he realised that whoever had been trying to get into the apartment now had the door open. The sounds of slow steps travelled through the apartment and Theon stepped quietly out of the shower. The lack of a door had obviously not provided as much ventilation as the exhaust would. A thick mist of steam clouded him from seeing properly out of the doorway but he could hear footsteps approaching fast.

A flash of red rounded the corner and stepped into the doorway, the intruder was holding a drill all of all things and revved it carefully.

“Hel-”

Theon’s flight response kicked in and he shoved the figure behind him into the bathroom and the drill dropped to the ground, accompanied with the sound of something breaking. He rounded the corner only to run into a confused looking man who he fell onto and toppled over. Theon struggled for a second but the man flipped them over and pinned him to the ground, naked.

“Hey now, calm down boy we’re just here to-”

The door to the apartment was opened again interrupting the man’s speech and two shocked, familiar faces entered carrying grocery bags – which are immediately dropped.

“ROBB!”

Robb stands there in a shocked silence as he takes in the sight of Theon being pinned naked by a larger man on the floor of their apartment. Jon has a pained expression on his face and he pushes back his hair before taking a long, deep breath.

“Theon,” Jon said with a cutting voice, “what in seven hells re you doing to our dinner guests?”

Theon looked up at the man who now seemed to be enjoying this whole ordeal and then back towards the bathroom. The bathroom where he had just assaulted who he thought was an intruder. The red-haired person sits up from where she was on the floor, pulling their hair back to reveal that they are in fact a woman.

_Oh. I think I just assaulted Jon’s girlfriend._

The woman looked down towards the floor next to the doorway, “I think you broke the drill.”

 

* * *

 

 

Jon Snow didn’t cause much trouble but trouble seemed to always be cause _for_ him. Currently in his shared apartment sits four different sources of trouble. Ygritte, who was nursing her head with frozen peas after Theon pushed her and broke the drill. Theon, who had thought Ygritte and Tormund were home intruders and is being stared at by both of them.

_I know Ygritte mad at Theon but Tormund’s stare is a little…interesting._

Tormund, the man Theon ran into while naked was staring at him like he wants to eat him - in what way, unknown. Last of all, Robb was finishing boiling the corn while suspiciously eyeing Tormund. Not that you could really blame Robb for being suspicious of the man who had pinned your naked boyfriend to the floor and was now staring so persistently at Theon he was looking visibly uncomfortable.

“Robb, you’re going to overcook the corn.”

Jon stood directly next to him but he still seemed unfazed, staring intently between Theon and Tormund.

_I didn’t peg Robb for the jealous type or maybe he is just being protective? I don’t even think Robb would know the answer himself._

Jon sighed and leaned close to Robb’s ear and whispered, “Robb, the corn.”

Robb startled and looked down to the large pot where there was enough corn to feed a small army. “Oh right, yeah I should do that.”

Robb dealt with the corn and Jon started plating up what they had been cooking, it was pretty decent food considering Jon had been putting half of his energy in defusing the tension. Everybody got up slowly at the sound of the plating and made their way to the dining table, Ygritte and Tormund one side while Theon was on the other – directly opposite Tormund.

Robb walked over with a giant bowl filled with corn cobs and cutlery and Jon grabbed the plated meals, serving each person. Robb sat next to Theon and Jon decided that he would take the role as peacekeeper between the sides and sit at the head of the table. No one talked for the first part of the meal, the sounds of cutlery scraping, chewing and shuffling were about to become unbearable when Ygritte cleared her throat and punched Tormund in the arm.

“Sorry about you know, being on top of you - without asking.”

Theon looked visibly relieved. “Thanks and I’m really sorry for breaking your drill.”

“What about me then?!” Ygritte said dejectedly.

“Oh yeah I’m also sorry for you know, pushing you to the ground.”

Tormund chuckled, “don’t worry boy, you’re not the first to be scared shitless by Ygritte.”

Everybody had a good laugh at that and dinner conversation seemed to open up, Tormund told stories and they were asking question about each other. There was some good back-and-forth banter between sides, Jon relaxed and let himself slip into the flow of conversation. The evening was turning out to be a success even after all the difficulties.

Of course, this was until _the corn_ came out.

Everyone except for Tormund had finished eating and he reached in to the large bowl in the centre of the table, filled with cooked corn cobs. Tormund took a huge bite directly from the cob and started talking to Theon. The more Tormund seemed to relax, the more he seemed to slip into a heavier accent.

“So Theon, have you got any pretty girl in your sights?”

Robb gripped his knife and fork tight and the sound of the question.

Theon replied unsurely, “Uh, not really no.”

“What about any boys, eh?” Tormund said, taking a slow bite out of his corn while maintaining eye-contact and licking the juice off his fingers.

A shade of red was becoming visible on Theon’s cheeks as he answered the question, “Not at the moment…”

Jon looked at Robb who was clenching his fists tightly into balls atop the table, knuckles slowly turning white. Ygritte looked at Jon, she was trying to keep her composure but her urge to laugh was showing on her face. Ygritte faked a cough to try and rid herself of anything resembling a grin and Jon looked thoroughly unamused at her which only seemed to spur Ygritte on.

_At least someone is enjoying this._

Tormund took another bite out of his corn and let his tongue linger as he licked a stripe up the side, “I think I’ve got my eye on a pretty boy, you could say we _ran into each other_ recently.”

Robb put on a calm face and smiled at Tormund. “Oh, have you known each other long?”

“I plan on getting to know this one a lot better,” Tormund said with a wink.

“How can you say you want to be with them if you don’t even know a thing about them?” Robb shot at Tormund, not even bothering to conceal his glare this time.

“Oh don’t worry boy, I’ve certainly seen a lot of him.”

Robb stood up from his seat abruptly and the colour drained from Theon’s face. Ygritte’s grin was gone and all Jon could do was sit and watch the spectacle unfold before him.  Picking up the plates harshly, Robb walked over to the sink and Theon followed behind closely. Jon could hear faint whispering and Robb seemed to relax with what he could assume was Theon’s pleas for him to remain calm.

Tormund finished another corn cob and stood up as well. “So Theon, how about next time Jon comes out to drink with us you tag along?”

Robb dropped the dirty cutlery down and ignored Theon’s attempt to stop him from speaking. “I don’t think he will actually.”

“Oh, I didn’t think I was asking you.”

The conversation was starting to get heated as the two locked eyes and exchanged dirty looks; everyone was too focused to notice the door to the apartment was being opened.

“I’m sorry but Theon already made his decision,” Robb said as he stepped out from the kitchen counter to go and stand in front of Tormund.

“I didn’t hear a work from him.”

Theon stepped forward and tried to say something but Robb grabbed him and pulled him to his side. “Theon and I made our decision _together_.”

Before anyone knew what was happening Robb turned to Theon and pulled his arms around his neck and drew their lips together. Unlike the argument, the kiss was sweet and tender with their lips gliding smoothly over one another’s as Theon tucked his hands lovingly around Robb’s waist.

Jon was the first one to notice and he stared before Ygritte and Tormund both caught on, the other too far into their own world to notice though.”

Ned Stark cleared his throat loudly from in front of the door he had come in unnoticed from, looking quite stunned at the picture before him. “Jon texted me about needing a drill and I was in-town tonight so…”

Robb’s eyes snapped open and he stopped for a second as if time had frozen when he looked at his father standing there, holding a drill in the doorway while he watched his son make-out. Theon noticed just as Robb did and he pushed Robb away from his lips and they both stood straight, unsure what to say or do.

“I’m just going to leave this here then,” Ned said, walking over to the kitchen bench and placing the drill down awkwardly.

Nobody moved a muscle or dared to speak up as he walked towards the door. Jon sat solemnly, Ygritte mirroring his expression while Tormund was stuck processing of the information. Theon reached his hand to grab Robb’s and their fingers interlaced, Robb gave him a reassuring squeeze of the hand.

“I’ll see you both at our next dinner, Robb.”

Ned nodded at Jon, then Theon before he walked out of the apartment and closed the door behind him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I plan on updating this story MUCH faster than this update came out, sorry for the wait guys but the next one is going to be coming a lot sooner now life isn't in the way so much. I'm also participating in [ youbuggme's October Creature Challenge ](http://youbuggingme.tumblr.com/post/151079757579/october-creature-challenge) so if you want to check some more stuff out or join in on the challenge please do!
> 
> Have a great day everyone :)
> 
> Come say 'hi' to me on [ tumblr ](http://distractedbylife.tumblr.com/)


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